A simple small light-weight personal dust sampling unit for full shift determination of asbestos dust exposure

Our plain-English summary of A simple small light-weight personal dust sampling unit for full shift determination of asbestos dust exposure, by J.W. Winters (The Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 1976).

The study

• Author: J.W. Winters
• Journal: The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• Published: 1976;19(1):77-80
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This short communication, by an author at James Hardie & Co. in Australia, described a small personal sampler for measuring a worker's asbestos dust exposure over a full shift. The author explained that the Australian hygiene standard for chrysotile and amosite was based on an eight-hour time-weighted average. The unit used a modified aquarium pump with a rechargeable battery, weighed 250 g, and drew air through a filter worn at the collarbone. In a test on one technician with four filter holders, 13 sets of filters were exposed to artificially produced dust clouds. Geometric means were 6.28 and 6.08 fibres/ml at the right and left collarbone positions and 6.16 and 5.92 fibres/ml at the right and left nose positions. The author reported no significant differences due to sampler position. About 700 samples had been collected with 25 pumps in a workforce of some 2000 people. About twenty filters showed no uneven dust deposit at the suggested flow rate, but samples taken above 90 ml/min tended to deposit more dust at the filter centre.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: short communication describing a personal dust sampling device, with a small test of sampler position on one person
• Who was studied: Device used in surveillance of a workforce of some 2000 people (author's employer, James Hardie & Co., Australia); about 700 samples collected with 25 pumps; position test done on one technician with 13 sets of four filters
• Exposure: Airborne asbestos dust; the Australian hygiene standard cited covers chrysotile and amosite; recommended flow of 30 ml/min for asbestos dust levels of 2 to 16 fibres/ml, 60 ml/min below 2 fibres/ml
• Main results:
  • The complete unit measured 100 x 70 x 45 mm and weighed 250 g
  • In the position test (13 sets of four filters on one technician, artificial dust clouds), geometric means were 6.28 and 6.08 fibres/ml at the right and left mid-clavicular positions and 6.16 and 5.92 fibres/ml at the right and left paranasal positions
  • Statistical analysis showed no significant differences in measurements due to sampler position
  • Pre-sampling flow checks gave a flow rate known to within 5%
  • Dust appeared evenly distributed across the filter at the suggested flow rate (about twenty filters checked)
  • The original prototype pump, first used in the field in August 1973, continued to operate satisfactorily after some 500 hours of use
  • 45 of the pumps had been used by government authorities and private industry in Australia
• The authors' conclusion: The author reported that a small light-weight personal sampler for full-shift asbestos dust measurement had been developed and was in use for workforce surveillance
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Samples taken at flow rates above 90 ml/min showed a trend toward more dust deposited at the filter centre, so the author suggested counting across a filter diameter
  • Some early pump failures occurred from insufficient battery charging, traced to poor charger connections

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